University Says It Is Reviewing Campus Water-Quality Concerns
Pat Elder
October 8, 2026
The statement from CSUMB President Carlos Vargas, Ph.D. addresses water quality concerns raised by a community group, noting the university is reviewing the data. The administration asserts that its facilities comply with all safety regulations, relying on the Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) 2025 report to claim that campus tap water meets federal and state standards. The Water District Report, , however, fails to include testing on PFAS.
While the Marina Coast Water District delivers PFAS-free water to off-campus areas like Abrams Drive, our testing reveals that tap water inside the Otter Student Union contains PFOA and PFOS concentrations above federal safety guidelines. The state says these toxins cause cancer.
Cancer?
We don’t know exactly what is causing the number of cancers reported on campus, although we have a good idea.
Julie Akey, MA, is a U.S. Army veteran and a graduate of the Defense Language Institute’s Arabic program. She lived at Fort Ord in 1996–97 and was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2017. Her experience led her to organize other former Fort Ord residents, veterans, dependents, and civilian workers who reported serious illnesses after living or working there. She wondered if others had been sickened by Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. Julie founded the Facebook group Cancer and illnesses from Fort Ord military base. a forum for people concerned about illness and contamination connected to the former installation. She has also gathered an anonymous database that now contains information on more than 2,000 people who are ill or deceased and lived at Fort Ord or the community after the base closed. She managed to identify 200 who didn’t live too far away with Multiple Myloma.
Akey is also among the petitioners who sought a new federal evaluation of historical drinking-water exposures at Fort Ord, an examination that was carried out with a limited scope that fell far short of expectations. See the guest commentary by Julie Akey in the Monterey Herald, July 13, 2026. Fort Ord’s unanswered health questions
To add your name to the anonymous database contact fortordcontamination@gmail.com